User blog:Juniperproductions/Yuri On Ice Cleared My Acne
No, this is not clickbait. Yuri on Ice cleared my acne, but more than that it gave me a will to live. That sounds really dramatic, but it's the full, honest truth. See, I'm a freshman in college. I was into anime when I was younger, but I took a break during high school to focus on school. When I finally got back into watching it this year, YOI was the first show I watched. At the time, there was a lot of stuff going on in my life. To be completely honest (I'm adding a trigger warning here so skip this paragraph maybe???) I was struggling with an eating disorder (having just recovered from anorexia and then going straight into binge eating, I gained a lot of weight and fast), depression, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD. Someone at my school was shot in front of me by the campus police, and I was suicidal myself. And then I started Yuri on Ice. Immediately, I saw a main character I could relate to-- an athlete with a lot of promise but who always put way too much pressure on themselves and ended up not reaching their goals. An athlete with anxiety and depression, someone who felt unlovable and who had to work really hard to recover what their mental illness had taken from them. Once again, maybe I read a little too deep, but I was into it. Throughout the series, I saw a shy, nervous, self-depricating character grow into a confident champion. But beyond that, the whole time there was someone on his side. Someone who loved and supported him even when he was unsure of himself. Who loved him when he thought he was unlovable. And that character was Victor. I have watched the show twice, spent countless hours looking at fanart, fan-theories, fan-videos, and fan-sites, and becoming immersed in the fandom. Yet somehow I seem to have more time than ever to be productive, to improve myself, to get involved on campus and to grow as a person. I have gotten back into running for the fun of it and I absolutely love it. I drink enough water and I eat a balanced diet, and I take my acne meds and I wash my face and remember to shower and I get enough sleep (most nights) which has done wonders for my skin (hence the click-bait-like title). I'm on top of assignments and interested in my schoolwork; I've done community service; I've gone to football games! I feel like a whole person again. Because in all honesty, YOI gave me a relatable character and a story that showed me that I was worth loving, and seemed to give me a reason to fight against the mental illness that was holding me back from being the best person that I could be. I'm not going to say it cured my depression or my anxiety or any of the other things I listed before because that is insane, but it's also not far off from the truth. Many days, it gave me the strength to push through and reflect on who I am and who I want to be. YOI, in a weird way, gave me a role model, someone I could strive to be like. Sure, I'll never be a world-renowned figure skater, but most days I wake up feeling like someone I never thought I would get the chance to be again. And it's because I feel like I was born to make history. Category:Blog posts